Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Eid Prayers

Eid prayers, also known as Salat al-Eid (Arabic: صلاة
العيد‎) and Salat
al-Eidain (Arabic: صلاة
العيدين‎), is the special
prayer offered to commemorate two Islamic festivals. Both the Eids are
collectively known as Eidain (عيدين) in the Arabic language. The two Islamic
festivals are:

1). Eidprayer always held in
Musallaby Prophet (sal) and never in a
masjid.

Why we
are not following this? May be due to non-availability of open lands or
grounds in the area. Not so. there are plenty of them; but we do this in
masjids as we have just got used to this easy way and lazy to make changes.

The time of Salat al-Eid begins when the sun reaches approximately two
meters above the horizon Eid Prayers should be conducted early
in the morning after the Fajr Prayer after sun rise. e.g.-If Fajr falls
at 4.35am, the sun rises at 5.59am on the 1st of July 2015-after
about one and half hours. Around 6am or soon after would be ideal. Ibn Umar,
Buhary 581.

Prayers should not be done before sun rise
and before sun set. It would be a great day if we could do the Fajr prayer and
then wait till the sun rises (just about an hour) and then do the Eid prayer
and back home by 6.30 or 7 in the morning.

All Trustees
of masjids should try to enforce this Sunnah to the best of their ability by
prior notice to the Ummah that Eid prayer would be held in that
playground, or park ; and get volunteers to organize and provide canopies
etc ., etc.

The
‘Eid prayer is valid for men, women, children, travellers, residents, people incongregation, and people praying
individually. It is also valid if performed in a house,mosque, or a distant place designated for
the salah, and so on.
Salaatul ‘Eid can be performed in the mosque but it is preferred to perform it
in a placeoutside the
city as long as there is no excuse or reason to do otherwise (e.g., rain,
etc.).

Make ghusl or ablution on
this day. It can be done at anytime but to serve the purpose it is recommended
to do it before going out for the prayer. The sunnah isto take a
bath on the day of ‘Eid.
Highly
recommended that he should wear his best clothes on this day. Should glorifyAllâh [i.e.,
say takbeeraat] Allahu Akbar . " Allâhu akbar. Lailaha ill Allâh. Allâhu akbar. Allâhu akbar wa
lillahil-hamd." TO say the long recital- walhamdulillah hi katheera etc. there
is no authentic hadith.

Some say
that the Takbeerat al-ihraam (say “Allaahu akbar” to start the
prayer),are
from the night before the ‘Eid, when the moon is seen, untilthe person goes to the musallaa
and the imaam arrives. The time for the takbeeraat during the‘Eid of the sacrifice is
from the day of 'Arafah until the time of the 'asr on the thirteenth ofThul-Hijjah. [See
Sharhussunnah: vol. 4, pp. 300-1. See Zaadul Mi ‘aad: vol. 1, p. 449.]

Eid ul-Fitr, Takbir starts from the moment of leaving the home to the
open field. Az-Zuhri (RA) reported: “Allah’s Messenger (SAW) would leave his
house on the day of Fitr, saying takbir until he reached the musalla (in this
useage meaning outdoor praying area) to perform the prayer. Once he had
performed the prayer, he would stop saying the takbir.

Al-Albani
said: “this hadeeth provides evidence for the Muslims’ common
practice of sayng the takbir aloud en route to the musalla (or outside prayer
place) even though many people have now neglected this sunnah, until it is
almost totally forgotten.

When
Ibn ‘Umar went out (of his house) on the morning of the day of Fitr and the day
of Adha, he would say the takbir aloud until he reached the musalla (or outdoor
praying place), then he would say it until the imam arrived (for the prayer)

Conclusion :
Therefore the general rule for the two Eids is as reported by az-Zuhri (RA):
“The people said the takbir on Eid from the time they left their homes until
they reached the musalla (or outside praying place), and (said it at the
musalla) until the imam arrived. When the imam arrived, they became silent; but
if he said the takbir, they would also say it.”

Shari'ah requires women and children to
go out and attend the salaatul ‘Eidayn. This includesmarried, single, young, old, or
menstruating women so that they mightstand behind the men and say
Takbeer along with them and invoke Allâh along with themand hope for the blessings
of that day and for purification from sins." Sahih Al-Bukhari: vol.2,
p.47, no.88.

"It is
a sunnah to pray salaatul adha early in order to allow more time forthe people to perform the
sacrifice, and the salaatul Fitr is to be delayed in order to givepeople time to pay zakat
al-Fitr.

First
is to [pray} and khutbah thereafter. After thakbeer thahreem, recite wajjahthu
Wagihililladee etc., do the 7 thakbeer in the 1st rakat. Do not drop
the hands and go on raising and dropping, but just utter the thakbeer seven
times following the imam. Same with the second rakat of 5 thakbeer.

Prophet
stood on the floor and delivered the khutbah in the musalla and he did not
sit half way and complete khutbah. There was no mimber.

Do not avoid
the khutbah, all should listen to this. Permissible to pray both Jum’ah
and Eid if on a Friday or perform anyone of this.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said inMajmoo’
al-Fataawa(16/214):

What
I think is that the Eid prayer is fard ‘ayn (an individual obligation), and
that it is not permissible for men to miss it, rather they have to attend,
because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined that.
He even commanded the women – including virgins and those who usually stayed in
seclusion – to come out to the Eid prayer, and he commanded menstruating women
to come out to the Eid prayer, but told them to keep away from the prayer-place
itself. This indicates that it is confirmed.

He
also said (16/217):

it is permissible to pray voluntary
prayers after returning from the musalla. Abu SaEid al-Khudri (RA) reported:
“Allah’s Messenger (SAW) would not pray any voluntary prayer (in musalla)
before Eid prayer. However, when he returned to his house, he prayed two
rak’at.

Entering any masjid, one must pray 2
rakats of greetings to the masjid (Thahiyyathul masjid) before sitting down.

“Do not have jealousy for one
another and do not have hatred for another and do not back-bite others and be
servants of Allah, brothers to one another.”

A society that becomes contaminated with backbiting will
never see agreement and unity and there will never be closeness and love
amongst the people. They will never become a society that has matured in
humanity, such that love and affection will rule over everyone.

Abû Hurayrah
relates that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever believes in
Allah and the Last Day should speak a good word or remain silent. And whoever
believes in Allah and the Last Day should show hospitality to his neighbor. And
whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should show hospitality to his
guest.” [Sahîh al-BukhârîandSahîh
Muslim]

Abu Huraira reported: The
Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “He has not
thanked Allah who has not thanked people.”Source: Sunan Abu Dawud 4811

Islam
appreciates not only giving thanks to Allahسبحانه و تعالىbecause
of boons He endows upon us but
also demands us to thankpeople for their favors and kindness. Just like “hamd” is a requirement
of being a slave (to Allah), so too is thanking (tashakkur) a requirement of
being a human. The religion of Islam orders people to praise (hamd) to Allahسبحانه و تعالىand
also to give thanks to (tashakkur) to people who do us favors.

Conclusion:Gratitude’s importance was emphasized by the Prophet Muhammadﷺ when he took the hand of Mu’aadh ibn Jabalرضي الله عنهand said: O Mu’aadh , by
Allah I love you, by Allah love you.” Then he said, “I advise you, O Mu’aadh,
do not fail to say this after every prayer: The Arabic version of this Hadith
is the following. Let’s ensure that we memorize it and recite it after every
prayer.

Allahumma A’inni Ala zikrika wa shukrika wa
husni ibadatika

O Allah!
Assist me in remembering You, in thanking You, and in worshipping You in the
best of manners.Musnad
Ahmad 5:245, Sahih abu Dawud Vol 2:86 or 1301(NE) and Sunan Nasa'I 1286[2]

7:5-When (thus) our
punishment took them no cry did they utter but this "indeed we did
wrong." 992

Note:992-The religious story of
man begins with a prelude. Think of the towns and nations ruined by their
iniquity. Allah gave them many opportunities, and sent them warners and
teachers. But they arrogantly went on in their evil ways, till some dreadful
calamity came and wiped out their traces. In a warm climate the
disturbance in the heat of the midday rest is even more than the
disturbance at night. It was when the catastrophe came that the people
realized their sins, but it was too late.

33:48 - And obey not (the
behests) of the Unbelievers and the Hypocrites and heed not their annoyancesbut put thy trust in Allah for enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs.3737

Note:3737- Men of little or no
Faith will often lay down the law and tell better men than themselves
what to do. In case of refusal they shower insults and
injuries. No attention is to be paid to them. It is their
way. All will be right under the government of Allah.

31:6 - But
there are among men those who purchase idle tales without knowledge (or
meaning) to mislead (men) from the Path of Allah and throw ridicule (on the
Path): for such there will be a humiliating Penalty. 3584

3584-Life is taken seriously by men who
realize the issues that hang upon it. But there are men of a frivolous turn of
mind who prefer idle tales to true Realities and they are justly rebuked here.
In the time of the holy Prophet there was a pagan Nadhr ibn al-Harith who preferred
Persian romances to the Message of Allah, and turned away ignorant men from the
preaching of Allah's Word. (31.6)

18:104-"Those
whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought that they were
acquiring good by their works?"2449

NOTE: 2449-Many people
have such a smug sense of self-righteousness that while they go on doing wrong,
they think that they are acquiring merit. So, in charity, all the elements that
make for outward show or selfishness (as to get some worldly advantage) nullify
the deed of charity. In the same way hypocrites sometimes affect to be
surprised that their declared effort for somebody’s good is not appreciated,
when they are really seeking some hidden gain or false glory for
themselves. The sincere are those who believe in their spiritual
responsibility and act as in Allah’s sight.

31:6- But there are among men those who purchase idle tales without
knowledge (or meaning) to mislead (men) from the Path of Allah and throw
ridicule (on the Path): for such there will be a humiliating Penalty. 3584

Those who mislead – whose efforts have been wasted in this life (
18:104- 31:6 )

They are those who Distort, Dispute,
Divide, Hinder, Mislead, Sell the religion, Imitators, Deaf & Dumb, &
Blind, and cannot see or understand, Refuse the Truth, Refuse to Believe, The
Arrogance, the Hypocrites, the Ignorance, the Mischievous Ones, those Forming
Sects and Divisions. THEY ARE THE ARMY OF THE SATAN – THE PERSISTENT
REBEL

CHARITY BY THOSE WHO SPEND OF
THEIR WEALTH TO BE SEEN BY THE PEOPLE, what the quran say:

,

Sahih International

And
[also] those who spend of their wealth to be seen by the people and believe not
in Allah nor in the Last Day. And he to whom Satan is a companion - then evil
is he as a companion.

Thafsir ibn
Kathir: (And (also) those who spend of their wealth to be seen of men, )
Allah first mentions the punished misers who do not spend, then He mentions
those who spend to show off to gain the reputation that they are generous, not
for the Face of Allah. A Hadith states that the first three persons on whom the
fire will feed are a scholar, a fighter and a spender who shows off with their
actions. For instance, (The wealthy will say, "I did not leave any area
that You like to be spent on, but I spent on it in Your cause.'' Allah will
say, "You lie, you only did that so that it is said, `He is generous.' And
it was said...'') meaning you acquired your reward in the life, and this is
indeed what you sought with your action. This is why Allah said, (and believe
not in Allah and the Last Day,) meaning, it is Shaytan who lured them to commit
this evil action, instead of performing the good deed as it should be
performed. Shaytan encouraged, excited and lured them by making the evil appear
good,

Sura.4- An-Nisaa :4:38-(Nor) those who spend of their substance to be seen of
men but have no faith in Allah and the Last Day: if any take the Evil One for
their intimate what a dreadful intimate he is! 557

EVIL EYE

Duas and supplications to seek protection from the evil “eye”,
sihr (magic), and other evils

The Quran and the Ahadith
of the prophet have clearly explained the harmful effects of evil eye (al-ain),
sihr (magic), jealousy, and other such ailments. Their detrimental effects are
frequently referred to both in the Quran and the Ahadith of the prophet. The sad part is that many of us may not even know if
we are affected by such evils and go about living our lives with the harmful
effects affecting our lives. Al-Bazzaar narrated a hadith with
a hasan isnaad from Jaabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had said (in part of the hadith)
that a certain portion of his ummah dies because of the effects of the evil eye.”

Almost all scholars agree that the evil eye is real and is
proven both by Islamic teachings and by real life experiences. Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “And verily, those who disbelieve
would almost make you slip with their eyes (through hatred)” [al-Qalam 68:51]

As a cure for such evils, Allah has told us to use the words of the
Quran. Such a treatment, also referred to as Ruqyah, uses
Allah’s words from the Quran and prayers both from the Quran and the Ahadith to
seek protection from and to treat a person. Allah says in the Quran, “And
We send down from the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy to those who
believe…” [Quran 17:82]

Unfortunately, many Muslims today either don’t make use of such
protection from the Quran or get involved in the use of lucky
charms and amulets, the use of which is considered Shirk [associating
others with Allah] and thus pushes one outside theboundaries of Islam. We should understand that
carrying amulets and charms for the purpose of protecting oneself against the
evil eye and witchcraft is completely forbidden in Islam. The prophet
said, “Whoever wears an amulet has associated others with Allah
(shirk).” [Narrated by Ahmad (16781); classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah (492).] Ahmad (17440) also narrated that
‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) say: “Whoever wears an amulet, may Allah never
fulfill his wish and whoever wears a seashell, may Allah never protect him from
what he fears.” [Hadeeth classed
as hasan by al-Arna’oot in his commentary on al-Musnad.]

As
Muslims, therefore, we should use only the words of Quran and Duas in the
authentic Ahadith to treat oneself or others from the evils of the eye, magic
and other such practices.

Below are some of the Quranic verses and Dua’s that can be used
for Ruqya. A better listing of Quranic verses and Ahadith for such purposes is
listed in the short e-book that you can get at the end of this post.

5.1 – Reciting
ruqyah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
“There is no ruqyah except in the case of the evil eye or fever.” al-Tirmidhi,
Abu Dawood. Jibril (peace be upon him) used to do ruqyah for the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) and say, “Bismillahi
arqeeka min kulli shayin yudheeka, min sharri kulli nafsin aw ‘aynin hasid
Allaahu yashfeek, bismillahi arqeek (In the name of Allah I
perform ruqyah for you, from everything that is harming you, from the evil of
every soul or envious eye may Allah heal you, in the name of Allah I perform
ruqyah for you).”

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

In a
hadith Rasulullāh (Sallallāhu ‘alaihe wasallam) is reported to have said:

“The
Muslim Ummah is like one body. If the eye is in pain then the whole body is in
pain and if the head is in pain then the whole body is in pain.”

The
above hadith clearly signifies that the Muslim Ummah are like one body,
immaterial of where we are, what nationality or gender we belong to or what
colour is our skin. If we hear that any part of this Ummah is being oppressed,
then we should all feel this pain.

Today
in many parts of the world Muslims are being oppressed and persecuted. Foremost in the list is
Palestine. Let us all join in making Du’ah to Allāh Ta’ala to bring an end to
the sufferings of the innocent Palestinian men, women and children. Also, let
us all join hands in boycotting the Israeli productsin their entirety.

A very
pertinent question arises here: Islam being Deen-ul-Haqq why is it that today its
adherents, viz. the Muslims, are going through the state of utter disgrace and
humiliation?

The
answer is: Allāh Subhānahu wa Ta’ala has held back His Nusrat (Divine Help). He
has held back His Nusrat due to fact that the Ummah of the noble Prophet
(Sallallāhu ‘alaihe wasallam) has invoked Allāh’s wrath by their actions.We
have strayed from the straight path, the path that Allāh has defined in His
Book asSwirat al Mustaqīm, and as a result we are not only denied Allāh’s
Nusrat, we are actually being punished by Allāh through the Kuffār.The
unfortunate thing is we are not even aware that we have gone astray.

There
are a number of transgressions brazenly committed by us today due to which we
have invoked Allāh’s wrath upon us. Given below are only a few of them.

Love
of the World

On the
authority of Thawbān , the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alaihe wasallam) said:

“The
People will soon summon one another to attack you as people when eating invite
others to share their food.” Someone asked, “Will that be because of our small
numbers at that time?” He replied, “No, you will be numerous at that time: but
you will be froth and scum like that carried down by a torrent (of water), and
Allāh will take the fear of you from the breasts (hearts) of your enemy and
cast al-wahn into your hearts.” Someone asked, “O Messenger of Allāh, what is
al-wahn?” He replied, “Love of the world and dislike of death.” (An authentic
hadith recorded by Abu Dawud and Ahmad).

Hadhrat
Moulana Ashraf Ali Thaanwi (Rahmatullāhi ‘alayh) in a tafseer once said that
Allāh Ta’ala has kept different systems for Masjidul Harām in Makkah and
Masjidul Aqsa in Palestine. The system that Allāh Ta’ala has kept for Masjidul
Harām is that it will always be under divine protection no matter what the
condition of the Muslims may be. Allāh Ta’ala will never allow the Kuffār to
take control of the Ka’bah Shareef. That is why, when Abraha and his army of
elephants went to attack the Ka’bah, Allāh Ta’ala protected His house using
small birds which destroyed Abraha and his powerful army.

However,
the system of Masjidul Aqsa is very much different.

The
condition of Masjidul Aqsa is based on the condition of the Muslim Ummah. If
Muslims live in the obedience of Allāh Ta’ala then Allāh Ta’ala will bless them
with the control of the Masjid. But Allāh forbid, if the Muslims move away from
the obedience of Allāh Ta’ala, He will take away the control of the blessed
lands and hand it over to our enemies.”

While
the Barbarian Israel is busy battering the innocent Gaza civilians the Islamic
countries are busy building world’s tallest buildings (e.g. Bruj Khalifa) and
the world’s first climate-controlled city that will also have the world’s
largest shopping center. Isn’t this a manifest display of love of the
world?

Emulating
the Kuffār

Today we
(Muslims) have resolutely entrenched ourselves in the Western ideologies. We
have firmly accepted the Western culture to dominate our lives and as time
passes the Western influence penetrates more and more deeply into the fiber of
Islamic society. In fact, some of us actually take pride in following theKuffārculture. Rasulullāh(sallallāhu alaihe wasallam)never hatedKuffār,but he detested their ways. Today
we are deeply in love with their ways. We have let the West choose for us our
lifestyle, the literature that we read, the way we dress-up, the food that we
eat with all itsharāmor doubtful ingredients, the way we
perform our wedding ceremonies and so on and so forth.

One of
the worst things that the Western Culture has ‘presented’ to us is the constant
urge to be entertained. As a result today we have become enslaved to the
electronic media that thrives on entertainment. Watching TV(equipped with wide screen TVs,
some of our Muslim homes’ living rooms have actually become like ‘theatres’),browsing the filth on the Internet,
socializing viaFacebookand other social networks – all these
vices have become today’s accepted norms. Hours and hours of our precious time
is wasted on WhatsApp. Our kids’ spare time is spent in busying themselves with
play stations and ipads and we parents watch them with approval.

In abayān(lecture) Moulana Sulaiman Khatani
says during the time he spent in Jordan, they visited anIslamic Universitywhile on a gasht (Jawla or visiting
Muslim brothers), in the company of two doctors from Syria. When they
entered the University they saw students carrying Bukhari, Muslim and Tirmidhi
in their hands but all of them were dressed in jeans and T-shirts and they were
all clean shaven. Outwardly there was no display of apparent Sunnah in
them. When they entered the Director’s office they met the Head of the Islamic
University and he was clad in a suit and a tie and there was a big
self-portrait in the office. When themahol(environment) is wrong then we witness
such disregard of Islamic ways of life.

What a
great irony it is that we Muslims love imitating and aping the very people that
are killing and maiming our brothers and sisters and their children! We
are not even aware that in itself, this is one of the reasons we are being
punished.

Not
Fulfilling the Obligation ofAmr
Bill Ma’roof – Nahy Anil Munkar

Amr Bil
Ma’roof and Nahy Anil Munkar (commanding righteousness and forbidding
evil) is a sacred obligation on every Muslim. Regarding this obligation, it is
mentioned in the Hadith narrated by Hadhrat Abu Dardaa’ (radhiAllāhu anhu):“Hadhrat ‘Aishah (RadhiAllāhu
‘anha) says: ‘

Once
the Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alaihe wasallam) entered the house and I guessed
from his face that something of great importance had occurred. He did not talk
to anyone, and after making Wudhu he entered the Masjid. I stood behind the
wall to hear what he said. He sat at the pulpit and after praising Allāh, he
said, “O Muslims! Allāh has commanded you to call people to good deeds and
prevent them from committing sins; otherwise a time will come when you will
pray to Him; but He will not listen to you; you will ask your needs of Him, but
He will not grant them; you will appeal to Him for His help against your
enemies, but He will not help you.” After saying this, he came down from the
pulpit.”’

Aren’t
we witnessing the situation that is described in the above hadith? How many of
us are involved in the effort of Da’wat and Tabligh (Amr Bil Ma’roof and
Nahy Anil Munkar)? In fact, once we involve ourselves in this effort,
inshaAllāh, the first two vices, and many more, will automatically fade away
from our lives.

What
Muslims all over the world are going through today is a dire wake-up call for
the entire Ummah. Let us totally migrate from the above vices and start obeying
Allāh’s commands, bringing the Mubarak Sunāh of our beloved Prophet(sallallāhu alaihe wasallam)into our lives. Let us all makeTaubāh and IstighfarandDu’āin abundance that may Allāh save the
Ummah from His wrath…Ameen.